‘Thinking out of the box.’ Kentucky creates ‘virtual’ Big Blue Madness and Pro Day.
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Kentucky basketball will stage a Big Blue Madness and a “Pro Day” this preseason. “Stage” is the operative word.
Both will be “virtual” events. Both will originate from Memorial Coliseum and be televised by the SEC Network, UK announced Thursday. Each telecast will be 90 minutes long.
Madness will be Nov. 20 with the telecast beginning at 9 p.m. Because of the coronavirus pandemic, fans will not be permitted to attend Madness for the first time since the annual tradition began in the early 1980s.
Jimmy Dykes, who along with Tom Hart and Carolyn Peck will be the TV hosts of Madness, said the lack of fans will fit a pattern for the 2020-21 season.
“That’s certainly going to be a new adjustment for all of us,” he said. “But I think it’s going to be a whole entire year of being flexible, making adjustments, changes on the fly. And that’s how these first two events will be for me.”
Dykes did not speak of Madness as a TV show suffering from the lack of fans.
“I think we’ll be creative enough on our end and Kentucky will be creative enough on their end to make it still be a very good show to watch on TV,” he said. “I know (UK Coach John Calipari) doesn’t do anything that is not first class and thinking out of the box.”
Madness will have the familiar elements of flashy player introductions for the men’s and women’s teams, plus three-point shooting and dunk contests.
“Since I’ve been doing it, it’s kind of been a made-for-TV event,” Dykes said. “I know there’s 20,000 people in Rupp Arena. But a ton of folks are watching on TV.”
For players, Madness is a “mental break,” Dykes said. “It’s a fun event for them. It’s a fun time.”
Several Kentucky players have talked this preseason about their willingness if not eagerness to play defense. Defense has not been part of Madness, where like Moses parting the Red Sea defenders clear out of lanes to the basket.
“That will be the last time they’ll be allowed to play and stay on the court without defending,” Dykes said. “From that night on, there won’t be any of that nonsense going on.”
Dykes and Hart will call UK’s Pro Day, which will be Nov. 12. The telecast is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.
NBA personnel will not be allowed to attend Pro Day. The pro scouts and front office staffers will not be at the mercy of the television camera. Kentucky plans to set up a baseline-to-baseline angle for the Pro Day scouts in order to mimic the customary view from courtside.
UK preseason
At Memorial Coliseum (no spectators)
Pro Day: Nov. 12, 7 p.m. (SEC Network)
Big Blue Madness: Nov. 20, 9 p.m. (SEC Network)
